Tonight We're Goin' Hard
by AkiraDawn
Summary: A recent promotion, and a hand selected guest list. Mix that with one intense party and a lot of liquor. This was how it began but she never knew it would end like this. Rated M for many reasons! As for pairings? Read to find out!
1. The Elephant in the Room

Tonight We're Goin' Hard

This was a challenge presented to me by a friend. I hope you like it as it is a rather unwritten about pairing. I don't want to give too much away in the description. Events take place in April but shortly prior to the appearance of Aerith Gainsborough. Rated M for several reasons.

I don't own Final Fantasy or anything related to it.

Tseng flipped through the loose pages of the three ring binder before him while occasionally tapping his pen on the table. Aside from the noise in the hall, the office was silent. Cissnei glanced up at Tseng repeatedly as she jotted notes on the legal pad before her. She chewed on her lower lip and nervously wrapped her hair around her finger in a rhythmic circular motion.

She could always tell when Tseng had something on his mind. He dropped his pen on the table, cleared his throat and tugged at his tie. He always went through routines similar to this one when he had something to say. Call it a ritualistic habit, a coping mechanism of sorts. Cissnei tried to keep her focus on her notes even though she knew Tseng was staring at her. He finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Chopper's ready in ten. Let's go." Cissnei shook her head and quickly shoved the legal pad into the document portfolio lying on the table. Tseng gathered up his things, shoved them in his briefcase and followed Cissnei out the door.

They walked down the long hallway side by side in utter silence. They didn't have to wait on the elevator that would take them to the helicopter pad. Tseng cleared his throat again and sighed as they rode the six floors up to the east wing landing. This building was littered with landing pads.

Cissnei jumped as the elevator doors flung open and the sound of the bell signaled their stop. Sure enough, there was the chopper with it's blades spinning awaiting them to board. The air from the blades blew Cissnei's hair all over as they approached the open doors. With Reno at the flight deck, he gave them a wave as he opened the side doors for them.

"Reno." Tseng greeted him with ahead nod.

"Tseng, glad you're here. Headset's on the seat." Reno said.

"Hi Reno. We're ready to go." Cissnei said climbing into the chopper after Tseng and throwing her document portfolio on top of Tseng's briefcase. She put her headset on and adjusted the mike as Tseng did the same.

"Tseng, can you hear me, over?" Reno said checking the headset.

"Loud and clear, over." Tseng assured him.

"Cissnei, do you copy, over?" Reno checked her headset.

"I copy, over." Cissnei answered him.

"Doors are closing. We're headed north by northeast. Destination is forty minutes away." Reno said over the headset. Cissnei and Tseng strapped the safety belts around them as Reno readied the chopper for takeoff. The tone over the headset indicated the chopper doors were sealed and the operative outside cleared Reno for takeoff.

Cissnei glanced over at Tseng who was looking out the chopper window at the operative. The blades began to rotate faster, the all familiar sound of the screaming blades before feeling the helicopter go airborne. This was business as usual for Tseng and Cissnei.

The blades reached full speed and Reno pulled the copter off the helipad. Cissnei felt her ears pop underneath the ear pieces of the headset and the chopper pressure changed as they pulled higher away from the Shinra building.

"Pressure will stabilize today at 2300 feet." Reno radioed over the headset. Tseng looked over at Cissnei. He turned Reno's portion of the headset off so that only Cissnei could hear his voice and vice versa. The cabin pressure changed again as Reno approached the cruising height. Once they stabilized, the noise and the pressure balanced out. They were now above the city and cruising. Cissnei heard Tseng sigh in her headset.

"So, are we going to talk about this or let it linger?" Tseng said to her.

"What's to talk about, Tseng? What's the big deal?"

"It's been a month. Did you get your tests back?" Tseng asked.

"Yeah, I got 'em." Cissnei answered.

"And?" Tseng pursued.

"Negative." Cissnei answered.

"All of them? All the tests were negative?" Tseng pressed onward.

"Yes, Tseng! I don't have anything! God, why does this even fucking matter!" Cissnei was irritated.

"It matters to me! He's one of our own!" Tseng said adamantly.

"Oh, so you think our own aren't clean?" Cissnei asked rather exasperated with Tseng.

"It's not that..." Tseng said looking out the window.

"Then what? It's been four weeks Tseng! You've been acting this way for a month! What the hell is your problem!" Cissnei insisted.

"We're partners Cissnei! You are my subordinate! I need to know about you and you need to know about me." Tseng paused. Cissnei looked over at him as he clumsily tried to straighten his tie even though they were both in safety restraints and his tie didn't need fixing.

"What are you saying?" Cissnei asked.

"Are you seeing him?" Tseng asked matter of factly. He didn't make eye contact with Cissnei.

"Why would it matter if I said I was?" Cissnei asked.

"So you are." Tseng said point blank.

"I never said that! You've never given a shit about me in this way before. So why now, huh? I don't know what the hell is going on between us, okay? It's sex! Okay, Tseng? It's a lot of really...good...sex and for some reason I don't think you want to hear that." Cissnei said. He didn't say anything back to her immediately.

"You don't act like it's just sex and neither does he." Tseng said rather disappointedly.

"Why does it matter so much to you what I am or am not doing with him?" Cissnei asked. She heard Tseng take a deep breath. Tseng looked down to notice a blinking red light on the radio unit connected to the headset. That was Reno trying to talk to them.

"We'll talk about this later." Tseng said turning Reno's transmission back on so they both could hear him.

The tension between Tseng and Cissnei could be cut with a knife. This all started four weeks earlier when it was announced Zack Fair had been promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class...


	2. A Reason to Celebrate

_Four Weeks Earlier – April 1__st_

Friday, the day that was supposed to spell weekend but instead was when all the Turks were glued to their desks typing reports and returning a thousand phone calls. Cissnei looked at all the work before her. There were at least seven post-it notes on her document portfolio from Tseng. There were three unreturned phone calls from Rude and a 1:00 meeting looming over her head. This was easy though compared to what Tseng dealt with on Friday mornings. Tseng abused the coffee pot, was stressed out by 9:30 and was out back closet smoking cigarettes with Reno to deal with the stress by 11:30. His ear was glued to a phone throughout most of the day all the while he multi-tasked with a hundred other things. As for Reno? Apart from the closet stress-induced smoking with Tseng his greatest task was sending all 137 helicopter inspection reports to Cissnei. All reports had to be on her desk by 3:00 every Friday. Most of the time it was entirely routine and he could get most of the work done by noon, but occasionally a chopper needed re-inspection, needed a repair addendum, or something else a bit out of the ordinary. If a chopper had to make a run on a Friday, well….it meant all the reports fell back on Tseng and that made him even more bonkers than he typically was on a Friday. On days like that, Tseng could burn through an entire pack by 1:30.

Cissnei felt sorry for him. When it came to his job, he was straight-laced, no nonsense and an absolute workaholic. Tseng was a good guy and he dealt with a lot of shit every day. The Turks needed someone like him in command and he was a great asset to the president. Her door was open as she stared blankly at a computer screen typing away as fast as her fingers would keep up with the occasional glances at the paper beside her. There was a knock at her door frame. Cissnei looked up, stopping her work mid-sentence.

"Hi Angeal. It's always nice to see you." She greeted him warmly. He smiled at her.

"Hi Cissnei, have you seen the announcements today?" he asked her.

"No, I haven't read me e-mails yet. Are you kidding? I don't want to respond to them yet. I'm sure there are several awaiting my reply. One thing at a time, you know? I'm buried already and it's nearly 11:00."

"Well, look at the announcements right now." Angeal said smiling at her.

"Okay?" Cissnei questioned as she clicked around on her desktop and opened up her e-mail. She opened the e-mail titled '04/01 Announcements'. She covered her mouth and gasped.

"Oh my god! Zack! Oh my god! SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair. He must be just…overwhelmingly excited. I bet it's…just crazy up there on the SOLDIER floor today." Cissnei said pushing her chair back from her desk.

"You have no idea. I came by to give you this and this piece of cake." Angeal said handing over an invitation and a piece of delicious looking vanilla cake. Cissnei's face lit up at the sight of those vanilla layers as she grabbed the cake from Angeal. It was obviously Zack's celebratory cake. She put the plate aside on her desk and opened up the invitation. She laughed. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" she said. Angeal had a look of sheer excitement on his face.

"Tseng is invited too. I'm going to see him next. Tonight, 8:30 at Tonic downtown. You _have _to come, this is Zack's only SOLDIER party. Me and a couple other guys put it all together. Do you have any idea how hard this guest list was to put together? Everybody likes Zack but I had to cut it off at fifty. Naturally, some guests are more important than others. We already have a VIP room reserved. That place is _ours _tonight?" Angeal said winking at Cissnei.

"So, I should bring some bills, right? Tonic is a strip club after all." Cissnei said laughing.

"Hey, it is….so much more than that! When you come in show the bouncer this invitation. He will tell me and I will personally come get you. My god, this must be what the mother of the bride feels like when planning her daughter's wedding. My puppy's all grown up, Cissnei!" Angeal said. She laughed. "So, will you be there? Come on, Cissnei. Please? You need a break from being here all the time anyway." Angeal said watching her attack the cake.

"I'll be there. I may not be there right at 8:30 but I'll be there. In fact, I'll be there with bills in my pocket. Wait, does he know about this? Is it a surprise or something?" She asked Angeal.

"No, no he knows. He had to know otherwise we couldn't have planned it out as well as we have. It's going to be a hell of a time I promise. I'll see you tonight. And hey, no suit and tie. Tonight, you're off the clock, you hear me? We have a lot of food being delivered today at around 12:30. You should come upstairs and eat with us." Angeal said.

"Can't. Gotta' get this work done plus I have a meeting. But hey, eat something for me and I'll see you tonight." Cissnei said. Angeal smiled.

"You got it." He tapped the edge of the doorframe and left her to her work; heading down the hall to presumably Tseng's office. Cissnei read over the invitation as she devoured the cake before returning to her glowing computer screen. She wasn't sure why she told Angeal so emphatically that she would be there. Sure she was a Turk and as a Turk it was their duty to watch SOLDIER closely. But becoming SOLDIER 1st Class was a hell of a big deal. She was just really excited for him. There were only a few promotions each year and Zack Fair had been in line for this one. It was no shocking surprise but not even Cissnei knew that Angeal had submitted the paperwork for approval for Zack to change classes. She wondered how Angeal and whoever else had time to plan this event but she didn't question it. She figured that she would call Tseng's office later than day and see if he wanted to go with her. She hoped to god he would wear something other than his suit and tie especially after Angeal's warning to her.

She organized all the post-it notes in order of priority. At least there was something to look forward to tonight and she was genuinely very happy for Zack despite the fact that Cissnei knew she could come across as a bit cold at times. She couldn't help it; it was part of her job. She had a reputation to uphold and being the next most powerful member of the Turks behind Reno she didn't have much of a choice but to carry on that persona. Just as she got back to work the phone rang.

"Hey." She answered it. "Yeah, I'll have these printed out and over to you in about thirty minutes. Did Angeal bring you Zack's invitation? What? What do you mean you aren't going? Tseng! Come on, you can go with me. This is huge for Zack!" Cissnei tried to convince him. "Oh, an old friend of yours is coming in for the weekend? Well, I guess I can understand that. Reno did what? Oh geez. Well, I'm sure I'll hear about it. Okay, okay. I'll run these over in a bit." Cissnei hung up the phone. She was a bit surprised Tseng wasn't going to Zack's party. It was exactly his type of venue but she thought at least he would make an appearance. He always did when SOLDIER members were promoted to 1st Class. She figured he would probably send a card with Cissnei to give to Zack or something. The phone rang again. "Yeah." Cissnei answered it. "Oh I see how it is. Send me to the meeting and you get to go eat on the SOLDIER floor. That's fine I'll tell them. Bring me a plate too when you go up there then. I'll pass out the papers and stall the meeting until you come in with food. Alright." Cissnei hung up the phone again.

The day droned on and at 12:30 Reno appeared at Cissnei's door. "Hey, here ya' go. Get your rubber stamp out." Reno said dropping a pile of papers on Cissnei's desk. "If ya' do these now, I'll go put 'em on Tseng's desk. I'm also kinda' interested in seeing how fast you can stamp your signature on these." Reno said making himself comfortable in the leather chair just inside Cissnei's door. She sighed.

"Alright. Get ready to see something amazing." Cissnei said getting her rubber stamp out to slap her signature on all these helicopter reports.

"Wait, wait…I'm gonna time ya'." Reno said pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Okay, ready? Go." Cissnei started slapping each page with her stamp as Reno watched. He could tell she had done this so many times that it was second nature to her. She had trained her hand that she could stamp three reports with one blot into the ink pad with her signature stamp.

"Done….132 reports…I keep track because I count them by tens as I stamp them." Cissnei said pushing the completed stack toward Reno. He shook his head.

"You know how to drive a man crazy. One minute seven seconds…and you counted them. That's some hot shit, Cissnei." Reno said picking up the stack and shoving his phone back into his pocket. "Hey, lemme ask you somethin'. I gotta date tonight. Where should we go? Someplace that's not loud and has grilled fish on the menu." Reno said leaning against the door frame.

"That's easy. Go to Bluefin. You want me to look up the address?" Cissnei asked.

"Nah, I'll get it when I feel like goin' back to my desk but thanks. What are you doin' tonight?" he asked.

"I'm going to Zack's party. You knew he got promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class, right?"

"Oh yeah, he did. Tell him congrats when you see him. Thanks for showin' me your skills. See ya Monday, Cissnei." Reno said leaving Cissnei's office and heading for Tseng's mailbox to drop these papers off. She knew that after the meeting was over today the Shinra building would start to clear out. She would stay until 4:30 but it wasn't uncommon for Tseng to stay there working until six or 6:30. Cissnei wanted to get a nap in before Zack's party tonight. She thought that of all days, today might be the one she would clock out early.


	3. Party Hard

_**Warning: Contains drug use. If that makes you uncomfortable and/or offends you, DON'T read.**_

"Thank you!" Cissnei said loudly to the cab driver as she shoved a wad of money in his hand. It was noisy out here tonight. Cissnei shivered as the cab took off, leaving her standing in the middle of a sea of people. There was still a chill in the air that loomed from March and April hadn't yet had a chance to chase it away. Cissnei noticed that the crowd she was standing in was the general entrance crowd. There was a second door on the opposite side of the building with a placard that read 'Shinra'. She figured that was the door she needed, especially since it had a separate bouncer who was likely checking for invitations. She opened her silver colored clutch and dug around for her invitation. "Hi, I imagine you need to see this?" Cissnei asked handing her invitation over to the bouncer. "I was told to ask for Angeal Hewley." She notified him.

"Yeah, he'll get you past the ID checkpoint." The bouncer said scribbling something on the invitation.

"ID checkpoint? But, I'm 24." Cissnei said.

"They check everyone, it's a pain in the ass and why that line looks the way it does back there. But since you are here for a private event he will just flash the card I gave him. Not." The bouncer explained handing her invitation back. The bouncer had a walkie talkie that he called the second floor of the building with. "Here, step inside. Your friend will be down shortly." He said.

"Thank you." Cissnei said stepping around the bouncer and into an already packed club. This lower level was the main floor, none of Zack's party goers were down here it seemed, of course Cissnei wouldn't know there were so many people in here. She wondered how this place could accommodate a private event plus all this general admission. It was part dance club part strip club and all glamorous. It was one of the more classy clubs in Midgar where you weren't _actually_ ashamed to be seen going inside. Cissnei's face lit up when she caught sight of Angeal. "Angeal! Angeal!" she called to him waving her hand in the air. He hurried over to her.

"Cissnei! Cissnei! Holy….shit…look at you!" He said hugging her.

"Oh god, am I overdressed?" Cissnei asked leaving her hands on his shoulders all the while holding on to her clutch.

"No! No! My god it's just…every day I see you in a suit and tie and now you…god you're makin' my pulse race. Angeal said. Cissnei smiled a bit embarrassed. She did look amazing in her purple dress. Its tiered design hugged every curve of her and hit at the middle of her thigh. She didn't look like those other slutty girls that were walking through the general admittance door. She was luxury wrapped in purple and topped off with rhinestone stilettos. Copper stained auburn hair fell over her shoulders in beautiful waves.

"You don't clean up so bad yourself Angeal Hewley." She said running her fingers over the edges of his shirt.

"I'm so glad you're here! Zack is gonna freak when you walk in the room. I was beginning to think you weren't coming or something." Angeal said. It's true that this party started at 8:30 and it was nearly 11:00.

"I'm so sorry I'm this late. I took a nap and I overslept. But I'm here now!" Cissnei said. "So where is Zack?"

"Last I knew he was under his third stripper. Oh and for the record, he's dressed but she…wasn't so much. Come on you, let's get upstairs. Seriously Cissnei, you're…you're hot. In purple or suit and tie…damn girl. Take my hand I don't wanna lose ya' in the crowd." Angeal said taking Cissnei by the hand. He lead her across the room carefully as they dodged a slew of people in their wake. She trailed behind him as he lead her up a flight of stairs. It got a little quieter as they walked down a short hallway and to another flight of stairs. She continued to hold on to Angeal even though there wasn't much of a need for her to do so at this point. They finally reached the top of the stairs where there was once again quite a bit of noise. "Here we are. This is our room." Angeal said letting Cissnei go inside in front of him. She knew most everyone in here but there were also a few people that she didn't know.

"Come on. We're going to surprise him." Angeal said still leading her around. Cissnei couldn't believe there was a private bar up here. Zack was talking to the bartender behind the counter much to Angeal's delight. "Zack! Close your eyes and don't turn around! Zack, you hear me? Close your eyes." Angeal yelled at him. "Here, put your purse on that table." Angeal pointed to the table that was piled up with keys, cell phones and a slew of other things. "Good, now come here." Cissnei laughed as Angeal put her where he wanted her. He grabbed Zack by the shoulders and turned him around. "Okay, open your eyes, Zack!" Angeal ordered him.

"Cissnei! Holy mother of…." Zack covered his mouth with both hands he was so shocked by the purple princess before him. Cissnei laughed at him.

"Congratulations SOLDIER!" She said putting her arms around him. Zack hugged her tight and shook her shoulders.

"Oh my god! Cissnei! Shit…you look…turn around, turn around!" Zack instructed her moving his finger in a circle and stepping back from her. She did just as Zack wanted. He shook his head.

"My god, let's get you something to drink and maybe a…convenient distraction for me." Zack said putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh! Wait, wait, wait. Here!" Cissnei said reaching for her purse on the table. "These are for you." Cissnei said shoving a roll of bills at Zack.

"What's that for? I don't want that." Zack asked.

"Zack! I stopped at the bank and had 20 gil converted to ones for you! You're supposed to spend that on women that are willing to take their clothes off!" Cissnei insisted shoving the bills back at him.

"So, how many of these ones will it take to get _your_ clothes off?" Zack winked at her. She hit him as hard as she could but couldn't help but laugh at him. For the time being he shoved all the bills in his back pocket. "What do you want to drink?" he asked her.

"Oh, here let me…" Zack cut her off.

"It's on the house. Besides I've heard that this bartender is getting paid like you wouldn't believe. What do you want?" he asked her again.

"Long Island Iced Tea and are you serious?" Cissnei asked throwing her purse back on the table.

"Angeal Hewley knows how to throw one _hell_ of a party. He's like the bad influence father-figure I never had." Zack said. Cissnei laughed as Zack handed her drink over to her. Zack picked up his own glass that he had requested.

"Here's to you SOLDIER. You deserve it." Cissnei said raising her glass to him. Zack's smile could have set the entire room on fire at that moment.

"Thanks." He said tipping his glass with her. The bartender certainly knew how to mix a strong drink. Cissnei looked Zack over. "What are you looking at?" he wondered.

"I've never seen you wear a necklace before…a colored cord hemp one at that." She said working hard on her drink.

"I know, it's gay as hell. Angeal put it on me because it matches his and I'm not about to take it off and disappoint him. That, and he tied it in an impossible knot." Zack said tugging at the tightly woven cord. Cissnei laughed.

"It's not at all. I like it." She reassured him.

"Yeah? Okay. Will you do shots with me and Angeal if I get him over here? He's running around this room like a crazy person. I want him to settle down, go in the back, take the money I gave him earlier and pay any stripper or stipp_ers_ he wants to take her clothes off on his lap. He's done enough. He'll do it for me before the night is over. You finish that. I'll get him over here." Zack said finishing his glass and leaving Cissnei to look for Angeal. She licked her lips as she took the last drink of her Long Island Iced Tea and handed over her glass to the bartender. It didn't take Zack long to track Angeal down.

"I've got him. What are we going to do shots of?" Zack asked.

"It's your party, man. You tell us." Angeal said.

"Oooh, I got it….pure 151 rum." Zack said. He couldn't have thought of much anything stronger.

"Oh god, that is going to burn going down but let's do it." Cissnei said.

"This is gonna kick our asses and that is just fine with me." Angeal said. Zack informed the bartender of what the three of them wanted to do and so he agreed to start them each off with three double shots a piece…that was the equivalent of six single shots of an alcohol so strong it would knock anyone out. Zack put his arm around Angeal and handed a double shot over to him. The three of them took the first one quickly. Cissnei's face was contorted into a look of misery as the burning sensation overcame her.

"Oh shit…give me another one before I can feel my throat again." She motioned at the bartender with her hand. She swallowed the second one faster as did Zack and Angeal. Now it was time for the last one.

"Here, do one more." The bartender said. If each of them did one more double shot that would make eight shots a piece. That would be a good stopping point for the time being. It wouldn't take long for the three of them to become rather sloppy. It was strange, Zack had barely left Cissnei's side once she had arrived. It was as if he had been waiting on her all night. Angeal flashed a handful of bills at Zack. Zack gave him a thumbs up and Angeal disappeared shortly thereafter. Zack took this opportunity to introduce Cissnei to anyone here tonight that she didn't already know. Everyone in the room that night must have stopped to talk with Zack. He didn't have a free minute for all the attention showered over him. It was hard not to like me, hard not to want to be in his company. He was always the life of any room. Angeal had been so lucky have had Zack as his understudy and Angeal was perfect for Zack. It was a bond that would never be broken. Cissnei noticed that all the shots they had done earlier were getting to her. In fact, she felt drunk and she wanted another drink to go on top of what she already had.

"Zack, you want another drink with me?" she asked putting her hand on his arm.

"Hell, yeah I do." Zack answered her. Even Zack's alcohol tolerance couldn't withstand that many shots but both of them had decided to make it worse. It was midnight and they were goin' hard at this point. Zack and Cissnei stood there at the bar as Angeal appeared once more.

"You look hot Angeal, you been sweatin' have ya?" Zack asked him loudly.

"Hey, hey." Angeal called back to Zack and nodded his head toward the side door of this room. Zack put his arms around Cissnei and pressed his lips up to her ear. It caught her completely off guard.

"You ever smoked a blunt before?" Zack whispered to her. He didn't pull his face away from her. She turned her head toward Zack, mako blue eyes were dangerously close to her.

"Several times with Reno." Cissnei told him.

"Come outside with me and Angeal." Zack said grabbing her hand. SOLDIER members didn't make it a habit of having or doing any drugs. All SOLDIER had routine blood tests and were put on probation if anything illegal was detected in their system. Tonight was an isolated occasion and the blood tests for the month had already been given. Zack and Cissnei followed Angeal outside.

"What the hell Angeal, this is a fire escape!" Cissnei said as the three of them crowded around each other on the small platform.

"Shit…I think I took the wrong door. It's okay though, it's okay. Cissnei, beautiful, beautiful Cissnei…who looks like a goddess in her suit and tie…" Zack cut Angeal off.

"Everybody thinks you look like a goddess in your suit and tie." Zack added.

"Yes, yes…Cissnei…you never saw me pull this out of my pocket and light it." Angeal said. Cissnei laughed. She just realized that Zack had his arm around her now; pulling her body close to him. She watched as Angeal took a long drag on the blunt that he had lit. He handed it off to Cissnei. Angeal shook his head. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more beautiful." Angeal said letting the heavy smoke escape him. Cissnei looked at him before handing this poison over to Zack. She exhaled. It was obvious she had done this before. Now it was Zack's turn. Neither Angeal, Zack or Cissnei noticed that it was rather cool out here tonight. The wind was blowing slightly and the honking of traffic could be heard below.

Cissnei was leaning up against Zack, her back to him. He had one arm slung around her waist. They had gotten rather physical rather quickly and neither of them seemed to mind at all. They had all taken four hits from the blunt which would probably be enough. Angeal bead his phone ring.

"Shit…I need to step inside for a minute, act sober as possible and take this. I can't let voicemail get it. Don't move, don't go anywhere! I'll be back." Where the hell were they going to go? They were on a fire escape! It was okay, logic was overrated right now. Cissnei stepped forward and put her hands on the fire escape railing. She leaned over slightly, watching the world below.

"You are so fucking gorgeous do you know that?" Zack asked her.

"You are too. Oh shit! I just said that out loud. Oh my god, Zack! I'm sorry." Cissnei said trying to salvage what little was left of her common sense. Zack laughed at her stupidly.

"Why are you apologizing to me? Shit Cissnei, you're funny sometimes." He said moving behind her again and putting his hands on her hips, pulling her back against him. Cissnei wiggled herself around. She still had her hands on the railing behind her. She felt her body heat up at the feeling of Zack pressing his body up against her.

"Do I…look high right now? 'Cause…I think I fuckin' am." Cissnei said letting her drunken eyes get lost in Zack's.

"You don't look high." Zack's voice was soft and once again his face was dangerously close to Cissnei's but this time was different. As he said those words to her he pressed his lips into hers.


	4. A Good Lapse of Judgement

Cissnei looked at Zack intently. She had her arms around him and she didn't even realize it. He kissed her again harder and deeper this time. He held her tighter against him as Cissnei let her hands roam all over him. She had no idea why the fuck she was touching him like this, why they had just kissed, why they were still kissing and above all why the fuck neither of them had resisted the other. Zack let his drunken breath hit Cissnei's face as he locked his eyes on hers.

"What the…what the hell was that?" Cissnei asked him. The words that left her mouth didn't match the fire in her touch.

"I liked it, you liked it and that's why we're gonna do it again." Zack said kissing her again. She didn't even have a chance to resist. Furthermore, she didn't really want to resist it. Their kiss was heated, passionate and dangerous. Their tongues collided as if they had done this before. Cissnei let the weight of her body fall into him. She didn't even try to tame his hands all over her…._all_…over her. Cissnei finally had to break away from him because she could hardly breathe.

"Zack." She sighed. Thank goodness Angeal hadn't yet returned.

"Come on." He said taking her hand in his.

"Where are we going?" Cissnei asked. Her mind felt completely fried.

"Dirty dancing." Zack answered taking her back inside.

"Wha…huh? No, no…we can't…do that. Well…maybe we can…especially if I get a Mai Tai..fir…shit Zack you're so fuckin' hot." Cissnei said slurring nearly every word she said. The last thing in the world she needed was a Mai Tai. He practically scooped her up and kissed her again.

He didn't care if anyone saw that and he wished he knew what the hell happened to Angeal. He hoped that Angeal didn't wander off high somewhere unattended. He would have looked for his dear party coordinator but he had other things on his mind right now. Once back at the bar, Zack told the bartender what he wanted and what Cissnei wanted. It didn't take him long to hand it over to Zack.

"God, I'm so fucked." Cissnei said taking a long, heavy gulp of the Mai Tai Zack had shoved in her hand. Zack had swallowed whatever he had in about three gulps.

"Not yet you're not." He told her pulling Cissnei out of the room and down the hallway. She didn't quite catch what he had said. She had to be careful going down these stairs. One wrong move and she would certainly have a broken ankle. Zack finally got her downstairs and they were easily lost in an ocean of strangers. He took her as far to the back of this room as he could. Cissnei pushed Zack up against the wall. It was like a reaction she couldn't control.

"You know how to cause a man problems." Zack said kissing the line of her jaw repeatedly. She didn't even flinch as he put his hands on her breasts. She let her hands caress the soft and very fitted fabric of his shirt. She pushed her hips into him hard.

"And what makes those problems go away?" Cissnei asked as Zack kissed his way to her lips.

"You getting underneath me." Zack said. "Come on, let me go find Angeal and thank him a thousand times and you come home with me." Zack said letting his hands indulge the bare skin of her thighs.

"I should go home." Cissnei said rather unconvincingly.

"It's a 35 gil cab ride back to your place. You're coming home with me." Zack said.

"Yeah, okay…okay." Cissnei said. It was time to go back upstairs and find Angeal. Zack wasn't going to leave without thanking him. He drug Cissnei back upstairs and began combing the room for Angeal. He finally spotted him. It was nearly 2:00 AM and so Zack didn't feel guilty about leaving his own party. Cissnei watched from the doorway. She gave Angeal a wave and somehow managed to motion to him that she needed her purse but let Zack make his goodbyes to him.

"Hey, hey. Thanks for everything and I mean _everything_. You're the best, the best ever Angeal. I know this is my party and all but I'm leaving to fuck Cissnei." Zack said hugging him as tightly as he could.

"Man, I would leave to if I were you. Here." Angeal stuffed something into Zack's pocket and putting Cissnei's purse in his hand. You go get some of that and I will see you Monday, I love ya, man. I mean I just love ya." Angeal said hugging Zack back as hard as he could. He pounded his palm into Zack's back before letting him go.

"I love ya' too Angeal. Hey, call me tomorrow but not before noon." Zack said walking away from him.

"Don't worry." He assured him. He blew Cissnei a kiss. She laughed and blew one back at him. She made a heart in the air with her fingers and pointed at Angeal…of course she also nearly fell over when she did it. Zack gave Angeal a last wave goodbye as he took Cissnei by the hand and lead her back downstairs. They waded through the crowd one last time until they reached the door. The outside air felt good even though it was cool. Zack squeezed her hand tighter as he pulled her to the curb. They didn't have a problem getting a cab in a timely manner though it was a wonder that Zack actually knew what he was doing to flag one down. Cissnei practically fell on top of him as they piled into the cab.

"Stupid, you have to tell him your address." Cissnei said laughing at Zack.

"Oh, shit! That's right. 620 Audobon Heights." Zack told the driver. Zack kissed her neck. Cissnei figured the cab driver could barely see Zack let alone give a shit. Zack lived in one of the townhouses approximately eight blocks away on the south side of the city. It wouldn't be a long ride especially at this hour. Cissnei didn't do a damn thing to resist Zack's lips on her neck. Traffic was light and the cab driver's radio could be heard mumbling away about something regarding Shinra. Cissnei watched the meter and attempted to guess in her mind what their fare would be…she was too stoned to do so. She let her hand creep across Zack's lap a little too far for public…if this was considered public that is. Cissnei watched as the streetlights whirled by them as the cab left the business streets for the south residential portion of Midgar.

"Seven gil. Thanks for flaggin' me." The cab driver said.

"Don't worry, I got it." Cissnei said.

"No you don't. Here. You shoved money in my pants earlier…or something." Zack didn't exactly remember that correctly but nonetheless found the money for the driver. Once they were on the sidewalk Zack dug around for his keys as they walked toward 4D…his townhouse unit. "You know Cissnei, I'm SOLDIER 1st Class now…I'll protect you if you ever get in trouble." Zack said.

"Please! Zack, I can take care of myself." Cissnei said laughing at him. "I'm no damsel." Zack finally found his keys and opened his front door. Cissnei walked in first. His house smelled good, but Cissnei couldn't figure out what it smelled like…it was just quite pleasant.

"Well, then…I'll just be around for you to talk to sometime! You know, in case Tseng isn't around or something." Zack said not even bothering turning on a light. Cissnei shoved him backward into the front door and kissed him hard.

"Okay, I'd like that." She finally said. She threw her clutch on a flat surface but she had no clue where it landed since the house was so dark.

"Angeal put something in my pocket, let's see what it was." Zack said putting one hand in the middle of Cissnei's back and walking her forward. "Angeal is freaking awesome. He put the rest of that blunt and a condom in here!" Zack said discovering the treasures Angeal had bestowed upon him. He had a drawer full of condoms so there was no telling why Angeal did that. "What do you say Cissnei? Wanna hit this some more and take your clothes off?" Zack asked turning a lamp on in his bedroom.

"Hell yeah I would!" Cissnei said taking her shoes off. "You're blanket's soft." She said running her hand over the soft fabric as she sat on the edge of his bed. She watched as Zack peeled his shirt off and searched a drawer for a lighter. He knew he had one and he couldn't remember why. "God…that's one hell of a body." Cissnei said.

"You can thank SOLDIER for that." Zack said finding the lighter and sitting beside Cissnei.

"I can only take a few hits of that thing. I'm already stoned as fuck." Cissnei said.

"You stop whenever you want…but take your dress off first." Zack said. Cissnei watched Zack inhale a long drag of the blunt while she unzipped the back of her dress.

"I love pink…there's just something about pink." Zack said blowing smoke in her face as he noticed her pink satin bra and mismatched panties. Cissnei pushed Zack backwards until he was laying in his pillows with her on top of him. She took the blunt from him in one hand and let her other hand rest in the middle of his stomach.

"God…damn." Zack said barely above a whisper.

"What?" Cissnei said letting smoke escape her nose.

"You're hot." Zack said. Cissnei laughed and slinked her hands up Zack's firm body.

"What some more?" Zack asked extending a hand to her.

"One more." Cissnei said taking it from him again. Zack moved his hands up her sides and to her back. He unhooked her bra and pulled the straps off her shoulders. Cissnei handed the blunt back to him and let her bra fall to the floor. "I think…I shouldn't fuck you…but I'm…like…gonna…and stuff." Cissnei said in her weed induced fog.

"Why do you say you shouldn't? You like…you should…because that's like…my first assignment as SOLDIER 1st Class…fuck you. Yeah, yeah…I'm supposed to fuck you…because…I said so." Zack said. Cissnei laughed hysterically which in turn made Zack laugh like an idiot practically choking on the last hit he took.

"It's…it's even funnier…because…that's not your 1st assignment…cause I have it! And I haven't given it to Lazard to give to you yet." Cissnei said laughing. That made Zack laugh even harder.

"Cissnei! God you're…you're…shit I need one more hit of this thing." Zack said doing just that and then handing it back to Cissnei. She couldn't resist taking another hit before blowing it out, leaning forward and putting it on Zack's nightstand. She let her breasts rub against his bare chest as she kissed him. This was going to get very hot very fast. The way Zack touched her, the way she touched him, the way their kiss was a heated fury. Zack traded places with her, pushing her down into his clean sheets. He pulled her silky panties off her hips, he needed to have her now.

"Are you gonna get naked too?" Cissnei asked as she laid there with her beautiful naked form for the taking.

"Damn right I am." Zack said not wasting another minute of her earnestness. Somehow, he remembered to actually _use _the condom Angeal gave him. Cissnei moaned at the feeling of him pushing in to her. She let her hands move over his shoulders, pulling him down against her. Zack could feel her fingertips digging in to his back, holding on to him, moving with the force of him. She moaned for him, begged for him and the sound of her voice only excited Zack more and more. He had his hands on her shoulders but took a moment to push her legs farther apart. This was about to get rough. Cissnei held on to him tightly as she gasped for air. She was digging her fingernails into his back now. There would be faded pink streaks all over him in the morning but he didn't care. He wanted her to maul him…it meant he was doing something right. "Come Cissnei…" he ordered her. He only hissed it at her the way he did because he knew she was about to do so. "Come…come Cissnei…"

"Oh shit Zack…Zack…oooh…god…" Cissnei was almost hoarse from straining her voice.

"Come Cissnei…" Zack growled at her knowing that he wouldn't last much longer. It was only a matter of moments before they both came in a sea of heat and sweat. Zack looked her with heavy eyes as Cissnei did the same. They both could barely breathe.

"Stay here tonight." Zack finally said digging his fingers into her hair.

"Zack…I can't do that." Cissnei said.

"Yes you can, yes you can. You shouldn't go home this late anyway, it's not smart. Don't worry…my…my house is clean and…stuff. Shit…I don't…know why I said that. Shit…I'm really high Cissnei but…my god you can fuck like…like it's nobody's business." He said weakly, resting his head on her chest.

"Oh Zack…" Cissnei sighed putting her hands in his hair."

After tonight, they would find themselves in this position two more times. Both times they would be stone sober…

My apologies for any typos, I proofed this rather quickly.


	5. Miss Independent

_Four Weeks Later - May 1, Back on the Chopper with Reno_

Cissnei could hear Tseng sigh on the headset. The day's run was over and Cissnei, Tseng and Reno had been in the chopper for approximately thirty minutes now. Cissnei knew Tseng was about to break. He hadn't said so but his body language all day had implicated it. Cissnei knew him so well; she figured that right now he had a massive headache because something was weighing this man down more than anything had before. "Do you really want to know why, Cissnei! You want to know why it bothers me so much? Why I'm asking and wondering what the hell it is that you two are doing?" Tseng asked her rather exasperatedly. It was as if their conversation hadn't really ended even though seven hours had lapsed since Tseng has said we'll talk about this later.

"Yes! Yes, I do want to know, Tseng! Because I hate it that things have been so tense between us ever since Zack's promotion and I have no fucking clue why! You act completely different. You've barely said a word to me since..." Tseng cut her off as he nervously tapped his finger on his thigh like crazy.

"It's because I'm crazy about you, okay? I'm...I'm a complete idiot for you! Every god damn thing about you is sexy and it drives me insane because I feel filthy telling you that! I can't get you out of my head, okay! You're Miss Independent for god's sake! That's sexy, Cissnei! You don't need any man's help! You're powerful and influential, you've got your own thing going on! You can do whatever the fuck you want whenever the fuck you want to do it and nobody….nobody holds you back! You're the most confident woman I've ever met in my life and Dammit Cissnei, to some men there is nothing more enticing than that! I've been fighting it and fighting it and fuck...I just can't do it anymore! And to make it all even worse you're beautiful and I have to see you every single day and watch you do all the things that desperately attracts me to you!" Tseng was practically yelling into the headset at her.

Cissnei's mouth was hanging open and even though the chopper was dark she could see Tseng rubbing his forehead with his fingers. That was a lot to deal with all at once. She didn't say a word, she couldn't...she just stared at her superior beside her. She could tell he needed a cigarette more than ever. She didn't at any point expect that jealousy, of all things, was the sole reason for Tseng's odd behavior toward her over the course of the past month. He was jealous of Zack. Period. It must have been like a dagger through his heart when he found out that she had been fucking around with Zack for the past few weeks. In his mind, she just knew he had to be thinking that they were doing it every night...she had only slept with him three times and she felt like Tseng needed to know that though she wasn't sure how it would help. Cissnei felt an overwhelming sense of guilt overcome her and she wasn't sure why. She was still speechless as she continued to watch Tseng. She knew she had to say something. She could not just sit here in silence but the shock factor was far from wearing off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said meekly.

"I was going to...but when I found out you slept with him...I couldn't." his tone was somber and perhaps even sad. Cissnei had a thousand things going through her mind.

"I'm not seeing him, Tseng. He and I...we're friends...we're friends who...just so happened to go a little bit further. There's nothing else between us. I haven't slept with him in a little over a week now. We were only together three times total. In fact, He met someone. He told me all about her. We're just that comfortable with each other that we can have the kind of relationship that we do. Now that he's met her we won't be in bed together anymore and that's okay with both of us. We're still friends." Cissnei explained to Tseng.

"But earlier today you said you didn't know what was going on between you two." Tseng said, his voice calm now.

"I was mad at you and I didn't think you'd understand even if I would have explained the whole situation because I couldn't figure out why you were acting the way you were. My god, if you would have just told me sooner than maybe we wouldn't have gone nearly a month with all that awkward silence. I couldn't figure it out, Tseng. I couldn't." Cissnei looked out the window at the tiny dots of city lights below. They were getting close to landing. The Shinra building was coming in to view in the distance. There was silence between them again. It wasn't a tense silence anymore. It was a silence of relief. However, there was a new problem to deal with now. Tseng had just confessed a multitude of feelings for Cissnei and neither of them had confronted that yet. Again, Cissnei felt like she had to say something.

"Hey Tseng, I bet you could use a cigarette right now." she said. The tone of her voice was comforting and it actually lightened Tseng up a little. He sighed and laughed at her.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Do you want have one with me when we land? I think we still have a lot to talk about it. You have to know about me and I have to know about you, remember?" Cissnei said reminding him of what he had said to her earlier. He shot eyes over at her. He could feel his mouth go dry. It's not that she was asking him on a date but it wasn't the reaction he had expected from her. Tseng noticed that Reno was trying to communicate with their headsets.

"Yes." was his answer before turning Reno's transmission back on.

"Thanks for makin' the run today. You wanna get somethin' to eat once I lock this thing up?" Reno asked. Tseng panicked and turned Reno's transmission off again.

"What do we say?" Tseng asked frantically.

"I don't know you say something!" Cissnei said. He and Cissnei were communicating in all this crazy indecipherable body language that included lots of flailing.

"No, you! Here I'm turning him back on!" Tseng said.

"What! No! Dammit Tseng! Uh...Reno can you hear me? Sorry, for the delay...Tseng hit something and cut your transmission off. Uhh, sure, sure. I think we're all starving anyway." she answered him. She was still throwing her hands around and looking at Tseng in the dark hoping to get some kind of response from him. Was that the right answer? Was that the wrong answer? And now there was unfinished business still looming in the air.

"Ya'll look like you're havin' convulsions back there. Don't worry we're on final approach." Reno said.

"Hey, I have an idea. When we land let's go to my place and order out somewhere. Not only are we all starving but I'm exhausted and I'm sure you two are as well." Tseng suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea to me, boss." Reno said to Tseng. Okay, we'll be...why the hell do I radio and tell ya' when we're landin' and when we reach altitude an' all that shit? You two know all that stuff!" Reno said. Cissnei laughed at him.

"It's just habit. It's what you're trained to do." Cissnei said.

"I guess so." Reno said. The blades of the helicopter switched gears and began to idle quickly. Reno radioed over to whoever was in the tower tonight for permission to land. The landing pads on this building were lit up like fireworks every night which made for a smooth land. Permission was granted back to him and Reno brought the chopper in tight to the building before lowering it to the pad.

"All clear, over and out." Reno radioed back to the tower as the weight of the chopper made a thud as it hit the helipad. Tseng and Cissnei removed their headsets and their restraints as light from the Shinra building flooded the interior of the chopper. This was the first they had actually made eye contact.

"I'm sorry." she lipped to him. She didn't exactly know what she was apologizing for. She somehow just felt an obligation to do so. Tseng closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No. I am." he lipped back to her patting his hand on his chest. Cissnei climbed out of the chopper first.

"Hey, call us a cab. Tell the driver to be at the north entrance. I'll just be a minute here." Reno said preparing to lock the helicopter down. Once Reno had his business taken care of he called Rude to report that they had returned to Shinra as the three of them headed for the north entrance of the building where the cab was to be waiting. Sure enough, there was one sitting there. It never took them long to arrive. Cabs circled the Shinra building like vultures because there was a lot of business to be had for the drivers. Reno was still on the phone with Rude as they piled inside the waiting cab on the side of the busy street.

"Flat rate, ten gil. Where to?" the driver asked. Before Tseng could even react Cissnei slammed her hand on top of his.

"1400 68th Street, Aurora Terrace." Cissnei said shoving the money in the driver's drop box and giving her Tseng's address. She sat back in the seat between Reno and Tseng and put her hands in her lap. "Don't worry, I got it." she said to Tseng. He wanted nothing more than a cigarette and to loosen this damn tie.


	6. Waiting for the Drip

"Just decide." Reno said to Cissnei as he leaned back in the chair with his hands behind his head.

"Shut up. Everything on this menu looks good to me." Cissnei said looking over the menu, unzipping her black jacket, and undoing her tie. She pulled it under the white collar so it wouldn't fall off somewhere. She held on to both ends of it as she desperately tried to make a decision. Tseng didn't care how long she took to decide but Reno wanted her to hurry up. "I want...the...no,no, I want...oh my god! Lobster ravioli! I want the lobster ravioli! Yes! That's it! That's what I want." She said excitedly.

"And you're gonna give me a bite of that, right?" Reno asked reaching for Tseng's phone.

"Yeah right! Get your own Cretaceous delights wrapped in a cream sauce." Cissnei told him. Cissnei leaned back in her chair and looked over at Tseng. She wondered if this were the first time he had ever smoked in his apartment. There wasn't an ashtray in sight anywhere and this place was always immaculate. Tseng had impeccable taste. From the granite countertops in his kitchen, to the vaulted ceilings in the main living room where the three of them now sat...it just didn't look as if he would ever light up a cigarette in here on a normal day. He reserved his nervous smoking habit for the back patio at the Shinra building.

"Tseng? Do you want me to open a window or two?" Cissnei asked while Reno was still on the phone to wherever it was they were ordering from. It was her way of letting Tseng know she knew he didn't smoke in his apartment although it seemed as that he didn't quite understand that. He looked at her. He hadn't even lit his cigarette yet.

"Yeah, that's probably a...good idea." he told her. Reno hung up the phone.

"Forty-five minutes. Tseng, you got any Ginger ale or something'?" Reno asked putting the phone back and going over to Tseng's kitchen.

"Yeah, help yourself." Tseng answered still keeping his eyes on Cissnei. She opened up the four windows in what would be called a breakfast knook. The air would help circulate and compensate for the cigarette smoke.

"Tseng, you wanna pop this Chardonnay Le Blanc I see sittin' here all lonely in your fridge?" Reno asked.

"Go for it. The glasses are in that top cabinet." he answered Reno as he took his tie off and slung it around his neck in a similar way Cissnei had. He also let his hair down...literally; letting long black strands fall around his face. Cissnei watched as he lit the cigarette. She walked back over toward him, reaching over and taking the pack off the table. Reno returned with an open bottle and three glasses. He pushed a wine glass toward Cissnei and one toward Tseng before pouring either of them. In return, Cissnei handed him a cigarette.

"I figured you'd want to join us." she said lighting hers and passing the lighter on to Reno. He laughed.

"You're such a boy Cissnei. Shit, you light your own cigarette, you tie your own tie and hell we all love ya' for it." Reno said. Cissnei laughed at him and got up to look for something that would make an appropriate ash tray. There was a bowl near the sink in the dish drainer that would work just fine. Although, it looked like Tseng used good dishes and she hated for the three of them to ash in such nice stoneware. It would have to work for the time being.

"Hey Tseng, ya' know what goes great with fine Italian food an' a bottle of Chardonnay?" Reno asked putting his feet on the ottoman and taking a long drag on his cigarette.

" Do tell." Tseng said as Cissnei put the bowl down in front of them.

"Cocaine." Reno said pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing a number. Tseng looked over at Cissnei as she sat down again. It was as if he were seeking her approval. Sure he and Reno had done a few lines with Rude before, but he didn't know if Cissnei ever had and he sure as hell didn't want her to think he was a coke fiend; which he was not. Cissnei smiled as she took another drink. She suddenly found herself in an odd position...strangely aroused; a fluttery feeling overcoming her. She always thought cocaine was one of those drugs that classy people kept in a drawer in between their Rolex and a stack of inactivated credit cards. Tseng fit that description perfectly. She looked back at him and smiled a rather stupidly delighted smile. Now she was the one that was nervous. Cissnei could feel her face turning pink as she put her wine glass down and unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt.

Reno put his phone back in his pocket. "We'll have it by 8:30." he put his cigarette out in the bowl. "Ya' know what's funny? Turks do cocaine, SOLDIER's into weed, Lazard does whatever the fuck he wants to do, god only knows what they do in infantry, and everybody covers everybody's asses so no one thinks anyone is doing anything." Reno said. Both Cissnei and Tseng laughed because it was the truth. There was a knock at the door.

"There's Lazard. He heard you say that and now the dirt's out on everyone, including him." Cissnei said.

"That's our food. Here, tell him to keep it." Tseng said handing fifty gil to Reno since Reno was already standing up and ready to go get the door. There was something dangerously sexy about a man who could flaunt bills like that without even reaching in to his wallet.

"I get you back. Shit, Tseng you tip too much. He's just the delivery guy!" Reno said.

"Hey, he works hard too you know." Tseng said. He had slowed down on his cigarette. Half of it was still there but he had just put it out in the bowl. "We'll eat in here." Tseng said standing up to go retrieve what they needed from his kitchen.

"Do you need some help?" Cissnei asked him.

"That's okay, you stay right there." Tseng said. It didn't take Reno long to empty the bag and open everything up. It all looked delicious.

"This was a good idea Tseng. They don't call you the boss for nothin'. You got another bottle of Chardonnay? We're gonna need somethin' to chase that snow with." Reno said.

"Hold on, I have a red but that was my last Chardonnay. I'll put it in the freezer because it needs to cool down a little." Tseng said. His voice sounded completely relaxed now. Cissnei had forgotten that Tseng was like this. Sure, she and him worked closely together and she knew him pretty damn well. But she was so used to the Tseng that took his job so seriously that she had forgotten about his refined side. She knew it was there, she just rarely saw it unless they were away from their job. She kept running the words over in her head that he had said to her earlier. She wondered why on earth he had told her he felt filthy in revealing his feelings for her. She couldn't figure that one out. Was it because she was his subordinate? Was it because he thought he shouldn't be talking to her that way? Maybe he thought she wouldn't see him the same way after telling her those things. It was so uncertain and she just had know.

There was a knock on the door again just as they were finishing up dinner. "That's my man." Reno said.

"Can I ask you to do something? And please know that I'm not asking you to do this because I think its woman's work." Cissnei laughed.

"Okay." she answered him.

"Will you rinse these dishes off while I go look for a razor blade?" Tseng asked of her.

"Of course I will. I'll even put them in the dish drainer for you." Cissnei said. Tseng smiled at her before leaving the living room. He had no idea why he asked her to do that. He really did need to find a razor blade to cut that cocaine but he wasn't sure why she had asked her to clean up. He didn't feel nearly as nervous as he did earlier, yet his words still seemed a bit on edge.

"Hey Tseng? Tseng? Can we cut this on your table or you got somethin' to put it on." Reno asked.

"I've got something!" Tseng yelled back at him. Cissnei made her way around Tseng's kitchen as if it were her own. She pulled the red wine from the freezer; it was cooled a little but not much. It would suffice, however. The only reason he had this mirror was for cutting coke on. Cissnei corked the bottle of red wine in a loud pop. She went back into the living room and filled Reno's glass first. As Tseng returned with the mirror and razor blade he couldn't help but notice how glamorous Cissnei looked with a wine bottle in her hand. How she let that crimson liquid hit Reno's glass before filling her own. He tried to shake the thought of her from his mind but it wasn't very effective since he was about to snort some blow with her. She filled Tseng's glass without even asking and sat the bottle toward the edge of the table.

"Here we go. Let's cut this fucker." Reno said moving to the floor and taking the mirror and the blade from Tseng. "How hard you wanna go? There's enough here for each of us to do three lines. I mean shit, we'll be…soarin' if we do 'em all." Reno said.

"Tonight, we're goin' hard." Cissnei said. Why not? It's not like any of the three of them had a damn thing to do the next day. Tseng could feel himself sweat a little as he moved from his chair over beside Cissnei on the floor. Since the table was in front of the couch, it was low to the floor and so the three of them got down to its level. Cissnei could feel her body fluttering again. This was a beautiful glass table…the kind she had always envisioned classy people doing cocaine from. She watched Reno chip away at that eight ball. He could cut a good line that was for sure. Cissnei glanced over at Tseng. He was drinking his wine too fast and Cissnei knew she had to slow him down. She put her hand in the middle of his back. That of course, nearly made him choke.

"Tseng…slow down." She said softly.

"Yeah, boss. You're drinkin' that like its grape juice." Reno said. "Ladies first." Reno said smiling at Cissnei. She laughed.

"Will you hold my hair back?" She asked of Tseng. What the hell was she asking! She absolutely could _not _flirt with the boss and lead him on and for the first time tonight that's what it seemed she was doing…or was she? Maybe it was an innocent question but probably not. She had already inadvertently hurt Tseng enough and if this was her way of leading him on…well that was just cruel. So…what the hell kind of message was that sending through his already frazzled mind?

"Uh…yeah, yeah okay…yeah…." Tseng said putting his wine glass aside. True she didn't want her hair dragging through coke but she didn't exactly need Tseng's help either. Tseng slowly pushed her long hair back, holding on to it while she bowed her head toward the mirror. He wanted to touch her neck…more than anything he wanted to…but then he mentally slapped himself for letting such a thought cross his mind. Cissnei looked like a goddess as she inhaled the white powder up her nose and tilted her head back. Tseng reluctantly let go of her hair as she rested her back against the front of the couch with her nose in the air.

"Your turn." She told Tseng. He watched as Cissnei closed her eyes and sniffed a few times. She opened her eyes again and watched Tseng's tie fall forward as he took the next line. She wondered why his hair stayed in place all over his shoulders and hers wouldn't. He did as Cissnei did and tilted his head back after inhaling a snow storm. Now it was Reno's turn. All that was left to do now was wait for the drip.

"We'll do the next one in about twenty minutes." Reno said.

"This was one hell of an idea Reno." Tseng said.


	7. Power Struggle

At some point, Tseng, Reno and Cissnei had decided it was too hot in Tseng's apartment and so here the three of them sat on the floor around the glass table with their white collared shirts unbuttoned. Cissnei's black lace bra peeked out of her unbuttoned shirt. All three of them were on top of the world; three lines of blow would do that to anyone.

"Cissnei, Cissnei…I'm gonna ask you somethin' and you have to tell me the truth because I'm your friend, and the boss is sittin' right there…and ya' can't lie to the boss." Reno said taking a drink of red wine.

"Okay." Cissnei answered him.

"Is it true…that you…fucked Zack Fair?" Reno asked. Cissnei smiled.

"Yes, it's true." She answered him. Reno laughed in delight.

"Oooh my god, that's...the greatest thing I've heard tonight. Well done Cissnei, well done. You're…the coolest girl I've ever met in my life." Reno said.

"Where did you hear that from?" Cissnei wondered taking another drink of wine.

"You're queen of the SOLDIER floor now, just so you know. I heard it from Angeal Hewley." He said. That was probably the last thing on earth Tseng wanted to talk about right now but nonetheless Reno just had to know everything.

"Well, I have a question for you Reno." Cissnei said. "When are me and Tseng going to meet this girl you've been seeing?"

"Well hmm…whenever you want I guess. Things have been going really well." Reno said.

"Have you slept with her yet?" Cissnei asked.

"No." Reno answered laughing at her.

"Call her. We want to hear what she sounds like." Tseng said emptying his wine glass.

"Yes! Call her now! We want to hear if she sounds hot!" Cissnei said.

"Oh, she's hot." Reno said.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait….wait…is she 1st floor phone operator hot…or Cissnei hot?" Tseng asked.

"Boss, do you realize you just said wait five times and…and you called your subordinate hot in the same sentence? It's okay though, you've had three lines of snow, two glasses of Chardonnay and a glass and a half of red wine. She's not Cissnei hot…she's…lemme think." Reno stared at the ceiling and thought a moment. "She's like…hot waitress hot."

"Call her." Tseng said.

"Do it!" Cissnei insisted refilling Tseng's glass with red wine again. She proceeded to do the same with her own glass and Reno's glass.

"Fine, but you two can't say stuff and she can't know we're sittin' here trippin' on blow. She doesn't know we do drugs sometimes but I swear I'm gonna tell her soon." Reno said getting his phone out. He dialed her number and laid his phone down on the table. "Hey, it's me." He said. Cissnei and Tseng listened carefully. Tseng's phone vibrated briefly on the floor. How it got there in the first place was a mystery, it must have fallen out of his jacket pocket when he took his jacket off. He grabbed it to see who it was. It was a text message from Rude. Tseng laughed at it trying to silence himself but handed his phone to Cissnei. She too had to keep herself from laughing at it. Cissnei showed it to Reno. It read: IS RENO SNORTING COKE WITH YOU? Reno laughed silently and texted him back.

"Why don't you have text messaging?" Tseng asked Cissnei.

"I do." Cissnei said.

"Since when?" Tseng asked.

"Since…I don't know like…three months ago?" Cissnei said with question in her voice. Reno was having a conversation with Rude and his girlfriend simultaneously. Reno could text faster than just about anyone and Rude was slower than anyone.

"Do you think she sounds hot?" Cissnei asked. Tseng shook his head.

"She sounds like one of the phone operators that works for Shinra." He said.

"I was thinking she sounded like a librarian's assistant." Cissnei said.

"Where do you get the assistant part?" Tseng wondered.

"She doesn't sound smart enough to be the librarian so she has to be the assistant." Cissnei said.

"Oh…okay." Tseng said still trying to completely figure out Cissnei's logic. Reno threw Tseng's phone back to him as he continued his other conversation. Reno pointed at it for Tseng to look at the screen. It read: DO YOU WANT TO MEET ME DOWNTOWN TONIGHT? Tseng looked over at Cissnei. He hadn't replied yet. She didn't know he was looking at her. He replied to Rude: NOT TONIGHT. Reno hung up with his girlfriend shortly thereafter.

"Well, there she was." Reno said putting his phone away again.

"How did you meet this girl?" Cissnei asked.

"She lives in Rude's building so I met her through him." Reno explained.

"So, are you gonna go meet him with me?" Reno asked Tseng referring to the text message.

"Uh…no." Tseng said.

"Are you goin'?" Reno asked pointing at Cissnei.

"I don't even know what the fuck you're talking about, sooooo no." Cissnei answered.

"He sent you a message like…twelve seconds ago." Reno said.

"Do you realize that my phone is in my jacket and I took my jacket off somewhere and I'm not going to go looking for it right now?" Cissnei said.

"Oh yeah, hey…all three of our jackets are in a pile right there. You know, she's coming with me to the regatta." Reno said.

"She is? That's great." Tseng said.

"The what?" Cissnei asked.

"The regatta!" Reno said again.

"What regatta?" Cissnei questioned.

"Oooh shit…I kinda'…haven't told you about that. President Shinra is being honored and the Turks…okay well mainly me…have been responsible for planning the event. The budget for this bitch is 500,000 gil and it's at the Seven Seasons hotel in three weeks. I only have some minor details to wrap up." Tseng explained nervously.

"Let me get this straight…Tseng…there's a huge fuckin' party in three weeks to honor Rufus Shinra with a budget of half a million gil that _you_ have been planning…and I don't know shit about it? Do you realize how much I could have helped you with this?" Cissnei scolded him.

"Don't feel bad Cissnei, the only thing he let me do was put the champagne order in. Rufus has to have the best and boss, I have no doubt that you're gonna' give it to him. Hey, I'm gonna' go. I'm meeting Rude downtown. It's been fun. I should…button my shirt." Reno said doing so and then picking out his coat from this pile of three. Cissnei was still a bit pissed over the fact that Tseng hadn't said a word to her about this regatta but she was also glad it didn't turn in to Reno wondering why Tseng hadn't said anything to her.

"Bye Reno, don't snort anymore coke tonight."Cissnei cautioned him.

"Yeah, see you Monday, Reno. Thanks for coming by." Tseng said as Reno put his jacket back on.

"Sure thing. Shit…my head is…wow. Bye, guys." Reno said closing the front door behind him. This would have been an excellent time for a lot of tense silence to occur between Tseng and Cissnei but it didn't. They could have moved from the floor where they still sat but neither of them offered to budge. There was a little bit of wine left in the bottle. As Cissnei sat there watching Tseng with snowed under eyes she knew that a situation was occurring...It just hadn't happened yet and Cissnei couldn't predict how it would play out. Coke was a different kind of high. There was no lapse in judgment here...okay maybe a little...but not much. That was the beauty of cocaine, the way it made you invincible yet preserved your rational and logical side. Not even two bottles of wine split between three could interfere with the flawlessness that was a cocaine binge. Cissnei was ready to get this conversation moving in the direction that it desperately needed to go.

"Why did you tell me that you felt filthy?" Cissnei asked turning sideways and swirling a small amount of red around in her glass. Her shirt was still completely unbuttoned and both she and Tseng had kind of forgotten about doing that.

"Because it's wrong." Tseng answered her. Cissnei put her elbow against the front cushions of the couch and moved herself away from him; letting her head rest in her palm. Now she was more beautiful than ever, with her white collared shirt pulled slightly open by the force of her elbow, the edge of her tie dangling toward her lace covered breast and holding a wine glass. SHe frantically swirled the purple liquid around.

"What's so wrong about it? I work with Zack too you know, so you can't use work as an excuse...boss." her adding that title to the end of her sentence sent chills all over Tseng.

"No, no it's not that...it's not work." Tseng said still making a conscious effort to keep his eyes off her.

"Well then, what makes you...so damn filthy?" Cissnei asked having no idea how he would answer this. Tseng reached for the wine bottle and poured the last of it in his glass. He finally turned sideways and looked at Cissnei. He didn't say anything for a minute, it was as if he had to rehearse it or remind himself of what the question was.

"I'm thirty-four...I...am thirty-four years old. You...you...are twenty-four. You see now? Better run, girl." Tseng said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Cissnei was confused as hell and she knew it wasn't the cocaine doing it to her.

"No, no I...I don't get it Tseng...what are you saying?" she asked.

"It's filthy...that me...a man halfway in to my thirties is desperately attracted to you...a woman who is six years from thirty. It's wrong..." Tseng said. Cissnei couldn't believe _that_ was his excuse.

"What the hell, Tseng! Yeah, you're thirty-four! Big fuckin' deal! What the...you...you're...that's not even old! That's nowhere close to being old! You talk like I'm sixteen and you're the creepy fifty-year-old perv that gets off in the high school parking lot after cheerleading practice lets out! That's why you feel filthy? Because you're thirty-four and I'm twenty-four! Shit, and to think I was bracing myself for some kind of...I don't know...some sort of _actual_ filth. I shouldn't put it that way though, it sounds like it was really bothering you." Cissnei said. That was just the beginning though. That may have been why Tseng felt filthy but what about everything else? What about everything he had told her? They hadn't gotten to that part yet.

"You...don't think me being ten years older than you is a big deal?" Tseng asked her.

"No." Cissnei took a drink of her wine as she studied Tseng's expression. It was part relief, part sincere trust, and part cocaine rush. "Tell me...boss...do you not think a younger woman being with an older man has a certain sexiness to it? A kind of danger that...in your mind...seems forbidden when in fact it's not. You know maybe...boss...what you _really_ feel filthy about is power. You...associate power with age...the older you get the more power you get. Well, now here you are confronted with a young girl..._underneath you_...we'll say...who has accumulated almost as much power as the man _on top_ of her and that excites you to think that a woman is mature enough beyond her years to earn that kind of power in a male dominated workplace. That's what it is Tseng...it's not the fuckin' number...power turns you on. And you feel filthy when you think about how much power this twenty-four-year-old has." Cissnei finished. The tone of her voice was serious and almost seductive. "That about right...boss?" she said. He looked as if he were about to faint. Cissnei reached out and put her wine glass on the table. In doing this she moved closer to him even though he hadn't said a word yet. It was okay, Cissnei had a handle on this.

"Did you know...I also have the power to come on to you first right now? It's okay though...I think you'd like it that way." Cissnei said. She plucked his wine glass from his hand and sat it on the table beside hers before carefully putting one hand on his shoulder; pushing him backward slightly. She crawled her way onto his lap, putting her other hand on his opposite shoulder. Her touch was soft and reassuring. It was as if every inhibition Tseng felt were somehow instantly set free because he didn't hesitate to put his arms around her and pull her lips into his. It was a kiss that was soft at first but turned very hot very fast. Blame cocaine? Maybe…but maybe not. He had longed to hold her up against him like this, to let his hands get lost in her hair this way. Cissnei never dreamed in a hundred years that she would like this the way she did. She wished he would tear her clothes off and have his way with her right there on his dark walnut stained floors. Maybe the thrill of being with her boss was getting to her. She could taste experience in his tongue as black lace rubbed against bare skin. She pushed her hands underneath his shirt, working it off his shoulders and down his arms. The floor was cold and so Cissnei broke their intense kiss to get him to the couch above. It was a divine opportunity to shed her own shirt before pinning the boss underneath her again.

She loved the way Tseng touched her; hands of skill running up and down her back and to her hips. Cissnei found herself silently begging for him to unhook her bra. She didn't take the time to question why she wanted her superior so badly right now. It was different than the feeling of how badly she had wanted Zack. This was like…a strange fruit that you didn't realize you liked until you tasted it. She gasped slightly as she got her wish, feeling her bra come loose. She squirmed to get her straps off her shoulders as she began to move her lips down his neck, down his chest, lower…and lower as she pulled her hands in a trail behind her. Cissnei sat up and dropped her bra on Tseng's chest. She had never seen his dark brown eyes plead like that. She let her hands travel down his chest, shoving her bra to the floor. She let her fingertips tease the edge of his pants unhooking his belt in one motion. Her eyes burned into his as she tugged on the sides of his pants. Tseng watched as she licked her lips but then gasped at what she did next. She didn't hesitate to blow the boss.


	8. High Dollar Whores

_Three Weeks Later, May 22 - At the Presidential Regatta_

SOLDIER knew how to throw one hell of a party. However, the Turks threw a very different kind of party…one with a lavish budget, an esteemed guest list and security guards that shut down Midgar within a two block perimeter of the Seven Seasons hotel. This was the biggest event in Midgar in a long time. Vice President Rufus Shinra was the guest of honor and Rufus, being the man that he was; could request any damn thing he wanted for this regatta. Some of his demands included an entourage of escorts, the 28th floor penthouse suite of the hotel and room service personnel at his disposal for the entire duration of his stay. Sure he was _Vice _President, but the man held a hell of a lot more power than his old man. Leave it to the Turks to make that happen…well leave it to Tseng and his compulsive need to ensure every detail was correct because he didn't think he could trust Reno to get anything done on time. Rude had been a huge help in organizing many of the final details of this regatta and Cissnei would have been as well….had he told her about this regatta sooner than three weeks ago.

There were two hundred bottles of champagne on ice and plenty more where that came from. The tables in the grand ballroom were covered in white linen cloths embroidered with Shinra Electric Power Company's logo. The centerpieces were stunning and the maitre'd's had a precise seating list of who sat at what table. The head table would consist of Rufus Shinra and two guests and Lazard Deusericus and his guest. The center table consisted of Tseng, Cissnei, Reno Rude and their dates respectively. Speaking of which, that was a burning question in Rude and Reno's minds because both Tseng and Cissnei had been more than tightlipped as to who was accompanying them to the regatta. Furthermore, neither Tseng or Cissnei had ever said whether or not they were spending the night at the Seven Seasons since this party would go hard into the wee hours of the morning. Reno and his girlfriend were staying and Rude was staying but Tseng and Cissnei had been non-committal on the issue. In fact, they had dodged the issue quite well for the past three weeks.

Guests had been pouring in to the Seven Seasons since 5:00 PM. Just entering the hotel was a spectacle, with the local Shinra news situated everywhere to cover this event not to mention every guest being announced as they entered the grand ballroom. It was all in perfectly timed intervals. This place was a buzz tonight, a Turk planned party at its finest. There would be an unspoken drug buffet somewhere in this hotel tonight; Rufus and Lazard wouldn't have had it any other way. Reno had been in charge of that, the delivery had been entirely under the table and Reno had hired an infantry guard to make sure everything Rufus Shinra requested was put in place. The press's flashbulbs went crazy at approximately 6:30 PM when Rufus, Lazard, and eight female escorts arrived at the Seven Seasons. The main event was in the building and dinner would be served in two hours.

"Hey, we put on one hell of a show don't we?" Reno asked Rude as he looked around the grand ballroom. "We're staying on the 16th floor. Where are you?" Reno asked Rude.

"Twelth floor." Rude answered him. "Tseng's not answering his headset. He's never said whether or not he's staying here tonight. I don't see why he wouldn't. He's gonna be so fuckin' wiped out by the end of the night. God, this place will still be alive well after 2:00 AM. Do you think Cissnei will show up with Zack Fair?" Rude asked.

"I'd say not. All of SOLDIER is out in the field. Fair's not even due back in Midgar until tomorrow."Reno said.

Tseng was sitting at the desk counting out bills on the desk in front of the window of he and Cissnei's room. True he probably didn't need 1200 in cash for any reason but he absolutely had to be prepared. Of course, this was _his _money…this wasn't company money. Cissnei had just finished shoving the receiver of a wireless radio into her garter underneath layers of beautiful black fabric. She knew she probably needed to have this thing on and the wireless piece in her ear but she had intentionally taken it out so Rude wouldn't drive her insane with incessant questions.

"You're seriously going to put that much money on you?" Cissnei asked wrapping her arms around Tseng's shoulders.

"I don't want to leave it in here, it makes me uncomfortable. The minute I would leave it here house-keeping would come in and take it then go spend it all on one of those high dollar whores that came in with Rufus's entourage." Tseng said shoving the folded bills into a pocket. Cissnei laughed and sat on his lap.

"I'll be _your_ high dollar whore tonight...and tomorrow night…and the night after that…and…well you get the idea. The best part is that you don't pay for this pussy." Cissnei said kissing him. Ah, she had such a way with words. She could have stayed right here and made out with the boss but they both knew their presence was needed on the first floor of the hotel. There were several drivers waiting to be paid and the money to do so was locked up with the concierge.

"You look amazing." He told her.

"Yeah, well…you look…downright sexy. Shit, you're in a tuxedo and I'm in an evening gown along with 500 guests. That's pretty damn sexy. Let's get downstairs and pay those drivers and I'll try not to get the train of this gown stuck in the elevator…again." Cissnei said.

Back in the grand ballroom Reno and Tseng watched as the first bottles of champagne were corked and poured. "Are you surprised Tseng isn't in here yet?" Reno asked Rude.

"He just radioed me. He's on his way downstairs to pay the drivers." Rude said.

"Very well." Reno said. Tseng and Cissnei were now at the front desk of the hotel talking with the concierge to get the money that was locked up behind the front desk. There were a total of seventy drivers to be paid; all of them hovering outside the hotel waiting as instructed to collect their checks. Tseng handed Cissnei half of the stack of checks and she headed for the front revolving doors to pass them out. Once all these drives cleared the area, there would actually be some normalcy in the streets. The press still loomed, covering whatever it was they could report now that the guest of honor had already made his way through the front lobby. There was no telling where he and his swarm of women were at this point. The drivers began to pull out from the hotel as they received their checks. Some of the guests chose to hire their own drivers, those that didn't were picked up by the drivers that Shinra hired. Cissnei could hear the beeping in her headset indicating that the battery was getting low; she had three hours left in it tops. She had no choice but to return to the room and get another battery. It would have to wait until this little project was complete.

"Hey, my battery is dying in the headset. I'm going to have to go back to the room and get another one." Cissnei radioed to Tseng.

"Wait on me and I'll go with you." He radioed back to her.

This would have gone much faster had Reno and Rude been there to help but they were actually and secretly serving as ballroom security. If anyone tried to pull any funny stuff in there, those two could handle the situation in under a minute. Each of them had a loaded gun tucked away in the inner pockets on their tuxedo jackets. Once handing out the checks was complete, Tseng and Cissnei headed for the elevator knowing that they were starting to get pinched for time. Their room was on the 20th floor and as they stepped out of the elevator Tseng pulled their keycard out of his pocket and handed it to her as they made their way down the hallway.

Cissnei quickly shoved the keycard into the door. She opened it, took a couple steps inside their room and screamed. She shoved Tseng back so he wouldn't see what she had just seen and quickly shut the door again. Her eyes were like saucers right now.

"What's wrong! What's wrong!" Tseng asked putting his hands on her shoulders in fear.

"Rufus Shinra and Lazard are in there tag teamin' it with three whores and there's a good chance that everyone in that room is well under the influence of something!" Cissnei shrieked as she tried to keep her voice down.

"What? But that's...he's...they...Rufus has to be down to the ballroom in…ooooh shit ten minutes! Ten minutes! That means Lazard has to be there in eight minutes! You and I are supposed to be down there in...fuck, fuck, fuck...six minutes!" Tseng said freaking out entirely after looking at his watch.

"What are we gonna do! We can't go down there otherwise those two dumb asses won't show up! _We_ have to get _them_ down to the ballroom!" Cissnei said watching Tseng pace nervously in front of her.

"Gotta think, gotta think, gotta think..." Tseng mumbled quickly as his mind raced.

"Oooh god, there's gonna' be Chlamydia all over that mattress!" Cissnei whined. Tseng paced around like a crazy person.

"Cissnei, we're gonna have to go in there...we're gonna get in there, get them dressed and get them downstairs." Tseng said disgusted that they had three high-dollar whores and two Pansy-ass playboys to deal with. There wasn't time to wonder how the hell this freak show got into their room in the first place.

"Wait, wait, wait...we need a plan. I'll grab a hoe and get her together...you grab Lazard first and get him dressed. Then...we'll figure out the rest!" Cissnei said.

"Okay...ready? Here we go..." Tseng said taking a deep breath and opening the door.

"Go, go, go, go go!" Cissnei said rushing in behind Tseng.

"Sir! Sir! You have to get...oh my god this is siiiick! Sir! You are expected downstairs, come on now, let's just...get you...dressed." Tseng said awkwardly tugging on a very naked Lazard.

"You! Find your dress! Now...Someone better be wearing this thong in the next fifteen seconds or you're going downstairs without it!" Cissnei hissed at one of the escorts that was all over Rufus Shinra.

In the ballroom fifteen floors down Reno and Rude were looking at each other nervously. "Radio one of 'em! Tseng is supposed to be walkin' in here right now and Cissnei is supposed to be right behind him. Tseng can't still be paying off those drivers! There is something wrong! Both of 'em are missing! Dinner is already delayed!" Reno said.

"You're right. And where the hell are their dates? Why aren't...we're short chairs at our table. Look, we're missing..." Rude was cut off by Reno.

"Man this is not is not is time to worry about chairs! Find Tseng and see where the hell he is!" Reno said.

"Where are you? Everyone is waiting!" Rude said in the headset, although it looked like he was talking to himself.

"I'm dealing with a situation here! Just...just hold the hell on! Delay the dinner!" Tseng yelled at Rude.

"You got it boss." Rude answered.

"Well?" Reno asked in anticipation.

"Boss says to delay dinner. He's dealing with a situation." Rude said radioing one of the maitre'ds.

"What kind of situation! Radio Cissnei now. See where she and her date are!" Reno insisted.

"Cissnei, where are you? You were supposed to be in here seven minutes ago!" Rude yelled at her.

"Don't take that tone with me! I'm havin' a...uuuuh...a girl problem...oh damn it...stupid...fake boobs!" Cissnei hoped Rude didn't quite catch the end of that as she frantically tucked one of these women into a dress.

"Cissnei, the boss is gonna be pissed as hell with you when he hears you're..." Cissnei angrily cut Rude off.

"I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE BOSS, RUDE! Cissnei said as she wrestled a whore on each of her arms. "No, no! Keep those in your dress and stand there against the wall damn it! Now, which one of you is with Lazard?" Cissnei asked exasperated.

"Cissnei! What the hell do we do with this third escort?" Tseng asked buttoning Rufus's vest.

"Shit, I don't...hey! Hey! Bitch, put the bottle down! You get your ass out that door and hook yourself on Lazard's arm. Tseng, send that whore in with Rufus!" Cissnei said taking the bottle away from one of the girls and throwing her at Lazard. There was no telling where they got the alcohol or all the drugs that were laid out over Tseng and Cissnei's suitcase. Tseng finally got Rufus Shinra dressed as Cissnei shoved on the third escort to get her toward the door. "Ew! Ew! Eeeew! I just touched something wet! Damn it! Keep those tits in that dress for god's sake!" Cissnei yelled.

"Tseng, you have _got _to fuck this blond later! She is in to some freaky shit...god she'll, she'll do whatever the fuck you want man!" Rufus slurred at Tseng.

"Thaaaaaat's just wonderful sir, now if you will please just come with me you've...you've got to get downstairs to the ballroom. Sir, your presence is expected now!" Tseng said tugging on Rufus and shoving him toward the door. He wondered how these five managed to get so fucked up in such an incredibly short frame of time.

"Down the hall! Down the hall to the elevator, right now! Move it! Dammit Lazard! Keep your fucking hands to yourself and WALK!" Cissnei yelled at him. Rude radioed Tseng again.

"Boss...they can't delay dinner much longer. Where are you and where is your date?" Rude asked concerned.

"Dammit Rude! Just delay the dinner another five minutes! I'm on my way!" Tseng yelled at him handling Rufus Shinra and another escort. Rude looked at Reno.

"Okay, Tseng is up to somethin'…" he said to Reno.

My apologies for any typos, once again I proofed quickly


	9. Let it Rain

"Which of these two do you think is less fucked?" Tseng asked Cissnei.

"How many stairs are there?" Cissnei asked as an escort fell over in to her.

"A lot…it's equal to two and a half flights." Tseng answered her.

"Let's send Lazard and the blond down together. Put Rufus with these two hoes and we need to back them up because all three of them could potentially fall. Once we get them to their table it will be fine. They can fuck themselves up more." Cissnei said as they approached the grand ballroom.

"Cue the announcer; we're almost to the staircase." Tseng radioed to Rude. A few moments later Tseng and Cissnei appeared at the top of the staircase in the grand ballroom with their hands full…literally. The sight of the ballroom was nothing short of breathtaking as Tseng and Cissnei watched Lazard and one of the escorts carefully. As Rufus Shinra's name resonated through the room, every guest stood in applause and thus the decent down the staircase began. Tseng and Cissnei were show stopping sights but it was masked by the intoxicated crew in front of them.

"Reno…why are they together?" Rude asked.

"I have no idea. Maybe they couldn't find a date for this." Reno answered him.

"Please, that's Cissnei! She can go with whoever she damn well…oh my god…oooooh my….god." Rude said as he took his glasses off.

"What?" Reno questioned.

"The boss is holding her hand the same way you hold your girlfriend's hand." Rude said.

"Oh, you don't think they _actually_ came here _together_? Do you?" Reno asked.

"I don't know." Rude answered him.

"Cissnei looks beautiful." Reno said softly to Rude.

"Does she ever." Rude said. Lazard, Rufus and three escorts finally were safely seated at their designated table. Tseng and Cissnei sat across from Reno and Rude with Reno's girlfriend to Cissnei's right and Rude's date to Tseng's left.

"What the hell…have you two been doin' for the past fifteen minutes?" Reno asked watching as Tseng and Cissnei picked up the full champagne glasses that awaited them and guzzled that liquid like water. Cissnei sat her nearly empty flute down and sighed exasperatedly.

"What have we been doing? What have we….been…doing…you ask. I'll tell you…what we've been doing." Cissnei began.

"Ooooh god, here it comes…" Tseng interjected.

"Let's see…Reno. First, me and Tseng were handing out Shinra company checks, minding our own business when all of a sudden we had to go back to our room. Oops, did I say _our _room! Yeah, that's right OUR room? You wanna know why it's our room?"

"It's our room…" Tseng interjected again.

"I'll tell you why! Because I'm fucking him! There, I said it! I've been sleeping with him for two and a half weeks and oh…my…god it's soooooo fuckin' hot!" Cissnei pounded her fist on the table.

"We're sleeping together…it's reeeeally is hot…" Tseng threw in edgewise.

"So we go to OUR room on the 20th floor only to find Lazard and Rufus Shinra naked with three STD-ridden whores, in what was supposed to be OUR bed, fully intoxicated and high from god only knows what, and doing things that make a porno look mild!"

"It was bad…" Tseng added quickly.

"Then we had to get them dressed and I put my hand in hooker slime, and Tseng had to touch two men in places and in ways that will only be erased from his memory when _I_ get naked…on him!

"It's true there was slime…" Tseng said amongst Cissnei's rant.

"After that we had to get the hustler club down fifteen floors in an elevator and into this damn ballroom without them falling flat on their asses and making complete fools of themselves. And _that_ Reno is what the _fuck_ we've been doing for the past fifteen minutes!" Cissnei said pounding her fist again and exhaling in relief. Reno, Rude and their dates were speechless. "Hi! You must be Reno's girlfriend. It's very nice to meet you! I'm sure you're just lovely. Is that hand sanitizer you're using?" Cissnei asked; her voice still sounding quite angered.

"Uh…yeah?" Reno's girlfriend said offering it to Cissnei.

"Thank you! Let me just….use some of…this." Cissnei said opening the bottle and pouring the entire bottle all over her hands and arms. Reno and Rude were holding champagne flutes and staring at Tseng and Cissnei open-mouthed.

"You're fuckin' the boss?" Rude finally said.

"What's hooker slime?" Reno asked.

"You touched a naked man?" Rude asked.

"This is a lot to take in…in thirty seconds." Reno said still in disbelief.

"Good evening, the first course is smoked salmon with capers in white truffle oil and micro greens. Can I interest anyone in anymore champagne?" a kind waiter asked.

"Yes, please." Tseng and Cissnei said in unison.

"Here, please bring three bottles to this table." Tseng said handing the waiter the first bill he came to in his pocket. He didn't even look to see what it was.

"Yes sir, right away. Can I get you anything else?" The waiter asked.

"No, but thank you." Tseng told him. "Now, where were we?"

"I think we were at the part where me and Reno look at each other and then go OH MY GOD!" Rude said. "Oh and this is my date…Audri…Audri my boss and the other Turk Cissnei that's apparently fucking my boss."

"Hi…I would shake your hand but…it sounds like you've been through a lot sooo….hi…again." Rude's mortified date said.

"Yeah uh…my girlfriend…Shaya…Shaya…them." Reno said giving a most awkward introduction.

"It's really nice to meet you both. We normally don't…" Tseng cut Cissnei off.

"We don't get ourselves into messes like this." He said.

"We're good people!" Cissnei said.

"We pay taxes, not whores." Tseng said.

"You know what they say…about…hoes…and their…high prices these days." Cissnei said laughing nervously and clanging her champagne flute into Tseng's without taking her eyes off Rude and Reno and their confused dates. Thank goodness the waiter arrived with the three bottles of champagne. Tseng and Cissnei both thanked him incessantly.

"I probably shouldn't bring this up but…how are you two going to get back in to your room now that it's pretty much a used condom…that broke." Rude asked. Tseng and Cissnei looked up at Rude. Neither of them had thought about that.

"Well, we have one suitcase in there that was covered in drugs. We need to somehow get back in there before Rufus and Lazard do and get that.

"Oh my god! You're sleepin' together, you're packin' in the same suitcase…shit just get married tonight for god's sake!" Reno said still in completely shock over the excess information they were hit in the face with.

"Filet mignon with grilled asparagus spears and potatoes au gratin with au jus, sir." The waiter said sitting a beautiful plate in front of Reno.

"Cissnei, you got one hell of a resume…I would tell ya' to add Rufus Shinra to 'experience' but after what you've been through somethin' tells me you should just go straight to 'references'." Reno said.

"Just so we're clear, I don't…sleep around…you know…with…everything and he's not paying for me." Cissnei said to Reno's girlfriend as she put her hand on Tseng's arm. She just knew these two women had to think she and Tseng were the weirdest people in this room tonight. "Well, I mean…I don't just give it up to every….dammit shut the hell up Cissnei and eat your fucking seared scallops and shrimp scampi!" Cissnei yelled at herself pouring more champagne down her as she jammed her fork in the delicate mollusk. Dinner was interesting nonetheless. Cissnei wanted nothing more than to get the wireless radio off her thigh but after the fiasco of entering the ballroom there was no way she was going to hike her 975 gil gown up to pull a transmitter out of her garter.

There was still the issue of what to do about their room. Once the third course had arrived Cissnei had devised a plan. "I've got it! Tseng, I'll be back. Wait, give me twenty gil. I'll pay you back as soon as I get my purse." Cissnei said.

"You don't have to pay me back." Tseng said handing her some money from his coat.

"Hold on right there. I won't be gone long." Cissnei said disappearing up the stairs of the ballroom. Whatever it was she was going to do, she had it planned out.

"So… you're hittin' a twenty-somethin'…" Rude paused. "You're the coolest boss ever and I'm happy to work with you." Rude said emotionally. The five of them stayed here in the ballroom as the waiters began clearing tables. This was going to be the hot spot once dinner was cleared. Rufus Shinra and his posse were so lit there was no telling how they would survive down here. Thank god, every guest here would be doing anything in their power to talk to Rufus and Lazard. Cissnei returned with a pleasant smile on her face as she sat down at the table once more beside Tseng.

"I'm back." She said smiling all over.

"Oh my god, Cissnei what did you do?" Rude asked.

"Oh…nothing. I do have one question though." Cissnei leaned forward and motioned Reno, Rude, their dates and Tseng to lean in with her. "Are you ready…to take our little Turk party…to a whole new level?" Cissnei asked.

"You didn't tie the whores up in a closet somewhere did you?" Reno asked her. Cissnei reached her hand in the top of her dress causing Rude's date and Reno's girlfriend to gasp. She dangled something in front of everyone. She pulled something else out of the top of her dress as well.

"Tseng…I got us a room." Cissnei said laughing. "You see, in this hand I have the elevator key to the penthouse suite and in this hand I have the keycard to the penthouse suite. And right about now, there is a bellhop taking a suitcase to the penthouse suite. Now, if you all will join me…I'll show you my other little surprises." Cissnei said pointing across the table.

"My god, I am so scared but I am so intrigued!" Rude said excitedly.

"Come on." Cissnei said standing up and pushing her chair in. She took Tseng by the hand as she lead the way to up the ballroom stairs. She paused once she had everyone along the banister that overlooked the table where Rufus Shinra, Lazard, and their escorts sat. "Wait, wait, wait…" she put her hand in the middle of Tseng's back. Reno and Rude wondered what the hell she was doing shoving her hand up her dress. Rude's grew huge at the sight of what she had in her hand. "HEY YOU! YOU MR. SHINRA!" The room grew silent and all eyes were on Cissnei, Tseng, Reno, Rude and their dates as she yelled at him. "I THINK…I FEEL A DOWNPOUR COMIN' ON." Cissnei shoved a monstrous stack of money in Tseng's hand. "Make it rain, make it shower, baby." She said wrapping an arm around him. She had taken this massive pile of money from what was once their room. Obviously, the president was going to make it rain in the ballroom but he was so fucked he didn't even realize that it was his own money fluttering down amongst the guests. There was a wild applause and even Rufus was ridiculously impressed. She kissed him a bit inappropriately for public but she didn't care. Now it was time to head to the 28th floor penthouse suite.


	10. The Unexpected

The night before had been a crazy one. When Cissnei had raided what was previously her and Tseng's room; she took an entire bag of cocaine off the dresser, which was immediately cut once she, Tseng, Rude, Reno and Reno's girlfriend had made their way to what was supposed to have been Rufus Shinra's 28th floor penthouse suite. Rude's date had bailed for the night and he insisted on christening Reno's girlfriend by shoving her face into a line of white powder. The five of them had hit the bottles pretty hard as well. By 3:30 in the morning Cissnei's thighs were screaming and she ached all over but all that pain she was feeling now had been well worth it. She wasn't lying when she had said the sex was hot.

It was early morning and Cissnei awoke in a fog and looked over to see Tseng outside on his cell phone, presumably getting an earful already at this hour. It was raining, pouring in fact and the sky was a dismal shade of gray over Midgar. She sat up in bed and looked around the room. The soft light of a lamp cast an amber hue over a portion of the ceiling. She just knew he went outside into the dreary dawn so he wouldn't wake her. The sound of rain made Cissnei want to sink into the heavenly down bedding once again. For a minute she thought she would, back in to Tseng's scent that loomed all over her, back into the smell of the night before; a heavenly scent. Cissnei was slightly startled at the sound of her phone ringing. Who in the world could have been calling her this early? She grabbed her phone to answer it. She didn't even bother looking at the caller ID to see who it was.

"Hello? Zack? Hey." Cissnei answered sleepily.

"Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? I'm headed back to Midgar right now. You should come over." Zack said.

"I...I don't think I can do that..." Cissnei answered him.

"Sure you can! It's no problem. I'll be getting in kinda' late tonight. I know! Come over for breakfast tomorrow morning and spend the day with me. We will take a nap on my couch, Cissnei! It will be great. We can do other stuff on my couch if you want but there's just not a lot of room and..." Cissnei cut Zack off.

"Wait, wait...I thought you said you met someone?" Cissnei questioned.

"About that...I...kind of lied about meeting someone. I'm sorry, you know I would never _intentionally_ lie to you but..." Zack sighed in the phone. "I uh...I had to tell you that I met someone because I had to stay away from you for a while so I could figure out how I felt about you. I know I sound like a girl right now but...I may have gotten more than just my cock involved...meaning my heart is involved too. You know, in case that wasn't clear. And in case I'm still being vague and confusing...I want to do more than just fuck you." Zack explained. So, nearly five weeks ago there in fact was _not_ someone else in Zack's life? He had made this up to sort out his feelings for her? Cissnei could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She looked outside to the terrace as Tseng sat there flailing his cigarette around; it's faint trail of smoke trying to stay alive in the dampness. Cissnei hadn't said anything to Zack. She was somewhat short of breath.

"Cissnei?" Zack questioned. "Hey, I have an idea, you come by Sunday and that can be our first date." Zack said. Cissnei could feel the color fall from her face. Oh...shit...now what?

"Zack...I..." Zack cut Cissnei off.

"Hey, before you finish that thought, I'm headed toward the Sector Five slums. There's a church there or something and I hear it's under surveillance. What do you know about that?" Zack asked her.

"I can't tell you that." Cissnei answered him.

"But you know why it's under surveillance?" Zack questioned.

"Yeah, I know why." Cissnei answered still feeling her heart pound. Her palms were clammy and she felt nervously hot all over. Hell, _she_ wanted a cigarette right now.

"Okay, so about Sunday? What time are you coming by?" Zack asked her.

"Zack, I need to tell you..." Zack cut her off again.

"No, excuses. I know you want to come over." he said.

"Zack..." Cissnei could feel her hand begin to tremble.

"Okay, so we'll say around..." Cissnei cut him off this time.

"I'm fuckin' Tseng..." she squeaked. Her voice sounded strained and desperate as she covered her mouth with her other hand.

"You're...you're what! Oh my god! This is...ooooh this is...you're sleeping with your boss!" Zack laughed in pure delight on his end of the phone. "Cissnei, that's...my god that's genius! So, here's what we agree on...any information you get on anything while he's in you is privilege and you then immediately call me and tell me what you know, okay?" Zack said. Tears were starting to leave streaks on Cissnei's face. "Okay, I have a plan Cissnei, and I am totally okay with this. He can have you on Wednesdays and odd weekends and I get you on Thursdays and even weekends. See, that way you don't have to make any fast decisions on...wait...he's ten years older than you. My god, I bet Reno and Rude are bowing down to him. I'm sorry, I'm off topic. Anyway, come see me tomorrow and we can seriously talk about you sleeping with him and me wanting more with you and...are you crying? Cissnei?" Zack's tone had completely changed to a somber seriousness. "What's wrong? Tell me."

"I..." Was all Cissnei managed to choke out between her sobs.

"Hey, I can switch to odd weekends if he prefers to..."Zack was trying to lighten her up but stopped mid sentence at what Cissnei was saying in the phone right now.

"I think I'm in love with him..." she uttered, burying her face in her hand. There was complete silence on Zack's end.

"Why are you crying?" Zack finally asked her.

"I have...no idea! I don't know...I don't know." she answered him sniffing and wiping her eyes.

"Is he good to you?" Zack asked her sincerely. Cissnei laughed through her tears.

"Yeah...yeah he is." she answered him.

"I just got you to laugh. That means you're happy about it." Zack said seriously "Hey...go to him."

"But Zack..." Cissnei started as she wiped her eyes again.

"It's okay. If you think you're in love, there is no way I'm interfering with that. Just promise me something. Don't do anything in bed with him that you wouldn't do with me...and if you do call me immediately and tell me about it in graphic detail!" Zack said successfully getting Cissnei to laugh again.

"Okay, you got it." Cissnei promised him.

"Listen, I'm gonna go. I have to climb up here and check some stuff out. I just hope I don't fall through the roof of one of these buildings. Cissnei? Do you regret sleeping with me? Zack asked.

"Oooh, god no I don't. Shit...I will _never_ regret that." She said sniffing repeatedly.

"I'm so happy to hear you say that." Zack said.

"Who the hell in their right mind would ever regret sleeping with you?" She asked continuing to dry her eyes. Zack laughed at her.

"You're right...I am pretty hot aren't I?" he asked her

"Zack!" She laughed at him again even though she was still fighting the tears. "Yeah, yeah you are. I guess I'll talk to you again soon, huh?" Cissnei questioned.

"Damn right you will. Hey...take care of him. If you don't he's bound to have a heart attack before he's forty. I'll talk to you again soon." Zack said.

"I will. Bye, Zack." She hung up her phone and wiped her eyes dry with the sheet that was wrapped around her. She looked outside again. She secretly wondered how much she had just broken Zack's heart. There is not a man on earth that wants to hear a woman is in love with someone else. But how the hell did she manage to fall in love with her boss? She didn't know...it just happened without her even being aware that it happened. Cissnei peeled back the blankets that surrounded her and got up. She opened the glass French doors, letting the cool, moist air rush in on her. Her silky black slip barely reached the middle of her thighs and one strap was creeping down her shoulder. She shivered a bit realizing that the gray morning was much colder than the sanctuary inside, despite it being May. She needed more clothes on to deter this weather, but she didn't care. Tseng was arguing with whoever it was on the phone, trying to prove that his logic was right. Cissnei slowly walked over to him, stopped in front of him and took the phone from his hand. She ended the call and put his phone on the table beside him. He didn't fight it, in fact he barely even looked surprised that she had done it.

Cissnei slowly sunk on to his lap and put her arms over his shoulders, letting her fingers become tangled in soft black hair. She stared at him seriously. Tseng threw his cigarette out into the rain and put warm hands around her waist. The dismal gray framed Cissnei's face. She looked like a glowing goddess compared to the fog behind her. "My god! You've been crying." Tseng said worriedly putting a hand on her cheek. Those brown eyes adored her and she knew it by the sincerity in them. She still hadn't said anything. Tseng's phone was ringing again but he didn't care. He didn't even reach for it, which was highly out of character for him. The expression on his face pleaded for an explanation without having to say a word. Light tears escaped the corners of her eyes as a certain degree of relief and dreaminess encompassed her. Thunder rolled across the city.

"I'm in love with you." she finally said, her voice hushed. Tseng's expression changed from worry and concern to what could only be described as overwhelming zeal. Cissnei shook her head and smiled. "Fallin' for you hard, boss." Her voice wasn't any louder.

"It's okay...I'll catch you." Tseng said to her softly, holding her against him tightly. "I'm not your boss, baby...I'm your boyfriend." Tseng's phone rang again as the thunder rolled once more. The rain began falling harder as the clouds grew darker overhead. The world from the 28th floor was void of the constant hustle of traffic and noise below. It was a strangely beautiful morning.


End file.
